


Child’s Play

by lil_1337



Category: Donald Strachey - Richard Stevenson
Genre: F/F, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-07-18
Updated: 2011-07-18
Packaged: 2017-11-07 01:06:29
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,647
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/425242
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lil_1337/pseuds/lil_1337
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Erica comes to visit for a weekend.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Child’s Play

It wasn’t my idea to have Erica spend the weekend with us. It’s not that I have anything against her; in truth I enjoy my role as father figure once removed. It’s just that my job is usually a lot less hands on. I cast the deciding vote between which bits of frilly fluff Timmy should buy, listen to him talk endlessly about all the new and amazing things she has learned and strike the right balance between supportive and reluctant when he leaves town to spend the weekend with her. I go when I can, but I limit my involvement because she’s his and that is how it should be. Besides, I can only take so much of listening to him and Dale snipe at each other about which baby food brand is the best and why disposable diapers are harmful to Erica and the environment.

The weekends he’s gone I can lounge around the house in my underwear, watch sports and eat all the crap I used to before we became a healthy household. Despite what Timmy might think the occasional thick steak with deliciously greasy fries or an omelet with extra bacon is not going to kill me. When we were younger I would have spend the time bed hopping, but these days I only cheat with the menu at the diner down the street. It’s cheaper and Timmy is more forgiving of my dietary transgressions, his words not mine, than my carnal ones.

I knew something was up when I walked into the house on Crow Street to find dinner on the table waiting for me. That it was past eight o’clock on a weeknight was my first clue. The second was flash fried pork chops covered in creamy mushroom gravy that was thick enough to spread. Next to them was a mound of mashed potatoes with not a damn vegetable in sight. Timmy joined me at the table and watched with a combination of amusement and disgust as I happily indulged in my second favorite sin, gluttony. He said nothing as I ate just sipped at the glass of wine in his hand until I pushed the plate away and looked at him expectantly.

One thing I will give Timmy is while he might stoop to bribery he’s not one to beat around the bush. “Dale’s mother is in the hospital so she and Janet are flying to Chicago for a visit. Since Erica is too young to be allowed on the unit she is going to be staying with us. They’ll drop her off early Saturday morning and pick her late on Sunday.” He punctuated his sentence by swallowing the last of his wine then sat looking at me.

Quite a few things went through my head all of which I dismissed. “Okay.” I stood and took my plate to the sink stopping to scrape what little remained on it into the garbage can along the way.

“I must admit that was much easier than I anticipated. I was prepared to seduce you to win you over to my side.”

“How the mighty have fallen.”

“More than you know. It is going to take weeks to work the smell of grease out of my nasal cavities.”

“If you go through with the seduction idea then you’ll have something else to smell instead.”

He smiled a little, just a quirk of his lips though his words were a solid deadpan. “If I must.”

“You must. Just lie there and think of Queen and country.”

“Queen, my dear Don, is as far from country as you can get.”

With that astute musical commentary I let him take me to bed and have his wicked way with me.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

 

Saturday, at some indecent hour of the morning, I woke up to the sound of the doorbell. Since Timmy had promised he would take of everything I rolled over and snuggled a little deeper under the covers letting him make good on it. I had been in bed a mere three hours having stumbled home around three with a camera full of incriminating evidence. My client wouldn’t be happy to know his wife was cheating on him, but it would earn me a fee and that was the important part.

I was in the middle of a dream that involved Burt Reynolds and Timothy’s Aunt Moira having a discussion about whether Coors or Pabst Blue Ribbon would make the better fertilizer for her herb garden when a small hand patted my face rocketing me back in wakefulness. Not since my divorce from Brigit have I woken up to find myself in bed with someone wearing that much pink. It was disorienting to say the least.

“Hi!”

“Hi back.” I tapped her nose and smiled groggily at the way she giggled. Her eyes had darkened since I’d seen her last and they were now just a shade lighter than Timmy’s though they shone with the same intelligence.

“I’m visiting.” She’d clearly inherited Timmy’s talent for stating the obvious too.

“I know. “ I told her wondering if there was a way to magically transport my robe across the room since under the blankets I was wearing nothing to cover the things that a small girl child should ever see.

“My mommies are going to chago and Mommy Dale broughted Daddy coffee as a bride.”

Now that was a scene I could picture. If Timmy was going to marry anyone or anything coffee probably had the best shot. Fighting the urge to laugh at the visual of Timmy walking down the aisle towards a steaming take out cup dressed up layers of white lace I cleared my throat a couple times until I was back under control. “Bri _b_ e. She brought Daddy coffee as a _bribe_.”

She flopped down next to me. “Daddy’s making pancakes.” Apparently she had little interest in both bribes and marriage ceremonies which boded well for our financial future.

“How many are you going to eat?”

“Six!” She showed me all of her fingers and I figured she had a great career ahead of her as an accountant or a member of congress.

“Only six?”

“Erica!” Timmy stood in the doorway wiping his hands on a towel and looking none too pleased. “I told you not to bother Don. He was up late last night and needs his beauty sleep.”

“Thanks, lover.” I waved goodbye to Erica and blew a kiss to Timmy when he scooped her up swooping her out of the room and closing the door tightly behind him. The sound of her giggles were still ringing in my ears when I drifted back to sleep

 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

 

When I woke up again it was a lot later and the house was quiet. I showered, shaved and dressed before heading to the kitchen instead of wandering around in my robe like I usually do on a day I don’t have to go into the office. I still had on my slippers since a man has to stand his ground somewhere. There was a note on the fridge from Timmy saying that he and Erica had gone to the zoo and would be back later. The leftover pancakes where in the microwave so I warmed them up to eat while I watched the Mariners get shut out by the Yankees.

It was later than I expected when the door opened and Timmy carefully eased his way into the house. A diaper bag in bright pink hung off one shoulder and Erica’s head rested on the other. He looked tired, but reasonably happy, so I slid off the couch to take her from him. Her hands and face were squeaky clean, but the front of her dress looked like it had been attacked by an ice cream factory.

Collapsing onto the couch he blew out a breath and let the strap of the bag slide down his shoulder. “Could you put her on our bed, please? I’ll make up the couch later.”

“Sure.” I carried her into the bedroom and laid her down in the middle of the bed before unbuckling her shoes and putting them on Timmy’s nightstand. While I was debating pulling the corner of the comforter up over her Timmy materialized in the doorway with a blanket it his hand. It was a jumble of pastels and when he tucked it around her I could see that there were animals sewn onto one side.

Back out in the living room with the door cracked so we could hear if Erica called for us Timmy stretched out on the couch plopping his feet in my lap with his usual lack of subtlety. “You’re making dinner.”

I undid his shoes and set them on the floor rubbing his feet through the fussy black socks he wears. “Pizza it is.”

“She had a good lunch so I suppose it won’t hurt this once.”

He didn’t open his eyes as I slipped out from under him to make the call. “Make sure there is some kind of vegetable too. That does not mean having them put onions or mushrooms on the pizza.” I snorted, but added a salad to order when I placed it.

Timmy had worn Erica out as much as she had him. She fought to stay awake through dinner and after a quick bath she was sound asleep in the bed Timmy had made for her on the couch. Her daddy was in bed not long after face down in the pillow snoring the way he does when he’s sick or had a few too many. When I crawled in next to him to read my book I noticed he was still wearing his boxer shorts and those damn black socks.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Erica and I were already up when Timmy stumbled out to the kitchen the next morning. She was watching one of the videos Dale and Janet had packed and I was reading the paper. Along the way she had explained the fine points of Dora the Explorer and in turn I shared why I thought the Yankees would probably make it to the World Series this year. It was a mutual exchange of information and we were both reasonably pleased with the results. I was even considering betting her a penny on the results of the next game to teach her early about evils of wagering on sports.

There was an edge to Timmy’s smile when he settled on the couch next to his daughter sipping from a steaming mug of coffee. His hair had been finger combed, but he hadn’t shaved yet which was unusual even if it was a Sunday. He stroked Erica’s hair, eyes on me as I worked the crossword puzzle.

“Making friends?”

“And learning new things. For example, I now know who Dora and Diego are which might come in handy some day if I’m ever held hostage by a crazed gunman whose only weak spot is children’s cartoons.”

He chuckled something I don’t hear from him near enough. “Knowledge is power.”

“So I’ve been told though I’m not sure I believe it. Look at you, you’re one of the smartest people I know, but how much power do you have?”

“That depends on the scale we are discussing. Do you mean globally, locally or personally?”

He had me there since I had no idea. Words were Timmy’s weapons and he used them as well or better than I did my fists and gun. I was smart enough to know when I was beaten and went for the diversion instead. “What do you say we get dressed and take Erica to the diner for breakfast? We can stop at the park on the way home. I might even let you hold my hand while we walk down the path.”

“How could I say no to an offer like that?” He finished his coffee and rose to refill it. “I’ll need to shower and shave.”

“You need to anyway.” I was more pleased with my argument than Timmy was based on the look he gave me though he didn’t disagree so I added a tally to the win column.

It was another ninety minutes before we were all showered, shaved, dressed and braided as needed to be presentable in public. At the diner pancakes, oatmeal, non turkey bacon and white bread with real jam were consumed as were glasses of milk and cups of coffee. Erica was finished before we were, but she sat quietly playing with her doll while we ate the last of our meal. Timmy got quite a few compliments on how well behaved she was and by the time we left I had remind him about the sin of pride which he brushed off with a comment about my parentage. It went well I thought.

At the park Erica coaxed both of us into swinging with her though I drew the line at jumping off. My knees and I have an arrangement, I don’t jump off swings and they don’t give out while I’m being chased down dark alleys. I did manage to redeem myself by riding the merry go round while Timmy watched on anxiously and shouted directions that consisted mainly of slow down and threats to my person if injury of any kind should occur. When it was over Erica stumbled around like a drunk on a three day binge much to my amusement. Having been that drunk I was able to walk a mostly straight line. We stayed at the park until Erica started to get sleepy then headed back to the house on Crow Street for a nap.

The rest of the day was filled with videos, educational games, tea parties and stories. I learned more about the world according to Dora and Timmy lost multiple games of chutes and ladders by making some of the worst strategic decisions I’ve ever seen. He did manage to recoup at least some of his dignity by insisting on having real tea with his cookies instead of the imaginary stuff I got. Erica agreed to juice after tasting Timmy’s tea and declaring it “icky” which I thought showed great home for her future palate.

 

 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

 

It was still dark when Timmy crawled back into bed after handing Erica off to Dale and Janet. He curled up behind me running his cold feet up and down my leg. “I thought the visit went well.”

I grunted my agreement then rolled over to kiss him hoping for a quickie before we went back to sleep.

“What do you think?”

“The Yankees are going to take the pennant. The house needs to be painted and I really need to piss.”

“About the visit.” I could feel the look even though it was too dark in the room to see it. That is what years of living with someone will do to you.

“Let me think about it.” I got out of bed and made a trip to the bathroom reviewing the last two days in my head.

When I got back under the covers Timmy moved close wrapping an arm around my chest and pinning me to the bed. “And?”

“It wasn’t bad and she’s a good kid.”

“Good.” I could hear the smugness in his voice. “Then you would agree to do it again.”

It should have been a question, but it wasn’t. I knew right then that I was screwed as surely as if I had a sore ass. Better to suck it up and go with whatever he was planning than run afoul of his famous Irish temper especially when I really had enjoyed spending time with Erica. “Sure, why not.”

“I’ll make the arrangements.”

With that he rolled over and it wasn’t long before he was snoring away leaving me to contemplate the darkness and wonder just what the hell I had agreed to.


End file.
